Trae Young just put his name atop one of the Atlanta Hawks (33-34) franchise leaderboards with his performance against the Indiana Pacers. The Hawks got a narrow 131-128 victory that probably leaves more questions than answers. How did they let a depleted Pacers roster ring up 128 points?
They’ve now allowed 120-plus points in three of their last six games. Fortunately, they are 2-1 in those games and only Indiana stands out among the group that includes the four-seed Chicago Bulls and reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks.
That’s a far cry from when they were allowing 130-plus in four out of six games to the likes of the Portland Trail Blazers, whom they will face on Monday.
Even more fortunately, Trae Young is a pretty good answer to most questions.
Trae Young’s historic season continued as Atlanta Hawks win second straight
Young’s night – 47 points, 7-of-10 threes, five rebounds, two steals – was highlighted by a 33-point first half. He tallied 19 points on 80.0 percent shooting and 7-of-7 free throws in the second quarter alone. He also hit those seven triples in nine first-half attempts and ended the half with just two turnovers.
His 33 points are the most in a half by a Hawks player besting Joe Johnson’s 32 points dropped in the second half against the Bulls in ’06. The previous mark for first-half points was 31 first set by Stephen Jackson against the Washington Wizards in ‘04.
Jackson did it again but in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks a few days later.
It has twice been matched by Young with both instances coming back in 2020; once each against the Miami Heat and New York Knicks.
47 and a W@TheTraeYoung | @laurenjbara pic.twitter.com/rV11GTBVur
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 14, 2022
On the year, Young is the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer averaging 28.1 points per game with 9.4 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from beyond the arc – both career bests. He is one of just three players averaging at least 25.0 points and eight assists joining Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic this season.
Young is the only one to average at least 25.0 points and 9.0 assists.
What’s more, Young would be just the third person to average 28.0 points and 9.0 assists multiple times joining Tiny Archibald and the great Oscar Robertson who did it an unfathomable eight times.
He would own the best three-point mark of the four seasons in which the stat was recorded including his own among that of James Harden and LeBron James.
This marks the sixth time this season the Hawks have won at least two games in a row. If they are going to make it to the postseason, and then have any kind of run once they get there, we are likely going to see Young make more history along the way. Just as he did during last year’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.